Love's not just for Valentine's Day
by Corkingly Spiffing
Summary: Best use of Veritaserum in SQ's Halloween Challenge. Basically a Halloween love story. R/Hr, the only way to go! (duh, its sugar quill!)


A/N: When I heard that Sugar Quill was having a Fan Fiction challenge, I just had to enter. I hope you like my story!  
  
Intro: What do you get when you mix Halloween, spiked punch, and two in love best friends? Find out in:  
  
Love Is Not Just for Valentine's Day  
  
By: Corkingly Spiffing  
  
"Ah, I just love Halloween, don't you?" Ron asked.   
  
At least, this is what Hermione thought he said. They had just gotten back from a Hogsmeade visit, and Ron was sucking on Honeydukes's latest invention, Pumpkin Pie flavored Sugar Quills, and was extremely hard to understand.  
  
Yes, it was Halloween, and Hermione was miserable. It was her least favorite holiday by far this year, for this year had been the introduction of the Halloween Ball.  
  
"So Ron, who are you going with?" Hermione asked, trying to sound casual.   
  
"I think I'm going alone this year. I mean, last year, when I went with Padma, there was this girl who I really wanted to dance with, but since I didn't even want to dance with Padma, I didn't dare ask."   
  
Harry snorted. Ron whipped his head around, glared at him, and mouthed 'shut up' while his ears turned red. This, of course, intrigued Hermione.   
  
"Yeah, that's not the only reason you didn't ask her to the dance. Pumpkin pie."   
  
"That's the ticket, deary. Oh, Harry dear, can I speak to you for a moment?" The Fat Lady said. He nodded.   
  
"You two go ahead, I'll just be in a minute." The other two nodded and went inside the portrait hole. Harry looked up and down the hall, and then turned to the portrait.   
  
"What is it you wanted," he asked.   
  
"Fred and George told me all about your plan. I must say, bravo. It's about time they got together!"   
  
"Thanks. By the way, have you seen them around?"   
  
"Yeah, they went down to the kitchens, I believe."   
  
"Thanks," Harry said, dashing off to the kitchens.   
  
********************************   
  
Harry snuck down the stairs to the kitchen. He rounded the dark corner, and was in the bright, cozy kitchen. Fred and George were giving instructions to a certain set of house elves, and were receiving tea and chocolate éclairs. Harry walked towards them, and was met by squeaking and bowing. He, too, had tea and éclairs shoved into his hands as he tried to make his way across the room.   
  
"Gred," he called out. The twins turned around.   
  
"Ah!   
  
"Harry!"   
  
"How spiffingly corking to see you!"   
  
"How corkingly spiffing to see you!"   
  
"Yeah, yeah, same here. So, is the eagle landing in the eerie? Is the rooster flying the coop?" The twins looked at him and blinked.   
  
"Harry," Fred said. "I have no idea what you're talking about, but."   
  
"The potion is almost ready," George said.   
  
"And the plan is falling into place." Fred finished.   
  
Harry rolled his eyes and smacked his forehead.   
  
"Good, now, we must move quickly. The dance is in a few hours."   
  
***********************   
  
Hermione stared at herself in the mirror.   
  
"Honey, you've been staring at yourself for half an hour now. You're gorgeous. You're drop-dead gorgeous. Whoever he is, is going to think you're absolutely shaggable and is going to be hanging over himself all night. Now please, go make him drool."   
  
Hermione was taken aback, flattered, and annoyed all within half a minute. Nonetheless, she got up, and looked at herself. Her dress was from a new clothes shop at Hogsmeade, Abercrombie and Witch. It was a white strapless dress, with an embroidered bodice and a long, flowing skirt with matching embroidery. Her hair was swept up, allowing curls to spill out and frame her face, and had tiny white roses twisted in. Her makeup was white and sparkly eye shadow with pale lipstick. Yes, she looked decent enough. She stood up tall, put on a smile, and headed out the door. As luck would have it, she was going alone. Seamus had a sudden case of the flu, and had to stay overnight in the hospital wing. Harry was going with Ginny, and she and Ron were dateless. Maybe not for long, she thought with a smile.   
  
She made her way downstairs to find that the others were waiting for her, sitting by the fire. Ginny looked striking in her scarlet dress, and Harry looked great in his dark bottle green dress robes. Ron, however, left her breathless. He looked absolutely smashing in his navy dress robes. And it was her gasp that made the others turn around, with Ginny and Harry's eyes twinkling, and Ron's mouth dropping.   
  
***********   
  
She looked like an angel. She looked as though she was sent straight from heaven. How it was possible for her to look so stunning was beyond him. Luckily, a quick elbow to the side from Harry saved him from looking like a total prat.   
  
"Hermione, you look." He started.   
  
"Smashing?" Ginny offered.   
  
"Shaggable," Harry whispered in his ear. This succeeded in turning Ron's ears the color of Ginny's gown.   
  
"Well, I was going to say dazzling beyond belief, but smashing works, too." Ron said. Now it was Hermione's turn to turn scarlet.   
  
"Why thank you, Ron. You look extremely handsome yourself." Ron blushed yet again. Harry cleared his throat.   
  
"Well, should we go?" He held his arm out for Ginny.   
  
"Yes, let's." Ginny said, wrapping her arm in his. Ron decided it was now or never. He held his arm out for her.   
  
"Hermione? Would you be my date for the evening?"   
  
*************   
  
He held his arm out for her.   
  
"Hermione? Would you be my date for the evening?" Her heart nearly exploded with joy at the simplicity of this action.   
  
"Of course." She took his arm, and was grinning from ear to ear. So was he.   
  
***********   
  
They walked into the Great Hall, arm in arm, and everyone turned to stare. Had they finally done it? Had they finally gotten together?   
  
************   
  
Hermione and Ron sat down at their usual spots at the Griffindor table. Harry and Ginny sat beside them. Twenty minutes into the dance, Harry and Forge exchanged looks. Harry nodded, and made to reach over to grab some mints. He 'accidentally' knocked over both Hermione and Ron's goblets of punch over.   
  
"Oh, whoops! I'm so sorry. Hermione quick stand up."   
  
Hermione stood up and Ron with her. Dobby and Winky rushed in from a secret hiding place, and magicked away the spilled punch. Dobby refilled the glasses with the potion-spiked punch. They ran and hid behind some cauldrons, for they too wanted to see their handy work. Hermione and Ron sat down and started chatting. Harry, Fred and George, Ginny, and the elves watched for one, two, three, five minutes.   
  
Finally, Hermione took a sip of her punch. "Mmmmmmmm, Ron! You've got to try this punch! It's absolutely marvelous!"   
  
Ron took a drink, and soon they both had gulped down their potion.   
  
"Well, I assume you liked the potion, did you," Ginny asked.   
  
"Yes, I loved it," they both answered in unison.   
  
"Well, maybe that's because it was spiked with Veritaserum," The twins cried out. Hermione and Ron's eyes got wide, and they gasped. They knew what was coming. Suddenly the Gryffindor table was oddly quiet.   
  
"So Ron, are you arse-backwards, completely, totally, utterly, and wholly in love with Hermione Aurora Granger," Harry asked, with the ease of asking for the bread rolls.   
  
"Of course I am, I have been since the second year," Ron said, then clasped his hand over his mouth. Hermione gasped, and looked at Ron with a pleased look on her face.   
  
"All right, Hermione. How about you? Have you not been absolutely, from top to bottom, entirely, altogether, and extremely infatuated with my darling older brother, Ronald Arthur Weasley," Ginny said smoothly.   
  
"I've been completely smitten with your brother Ron, since I found out he braved spiders for me in the second year." Hermione's eyes widened at what she said, and Ron just sat there, dumbstruck.   
  
"Is that true, Hermione?"   
  
"Of course it is, I just took a powerful truth potion. H-How bout you?"   
  
"Well, Hermione, how bout I show you if it was true or not." He grabbed her and pulled her into a passionate kiss, which made all the girls who were watching sigh. They broke apart and looked up to find McGonagall standing next to them with her usual stern look on her face. They both were getting nervous, when she said...   
  
"About bloody time! You two have been flirting non-stop for the past three years. I was just about ready to shove you in a broom closet and lock you in. Now, if you two would kindly get a room, the rest of us are trying to hold a dance." Hermione and Ron swore they saw her thin lips stretched into a smile for a fraction of a second. Ron gave Hermione a half-smile, and she pulled him into second kiss, as the Great Hall erupted into applause. Harry, Ginny, Winky, Fred, George, and Dobby all exchanged smiles. Mission complete. 


End file.
